Railway switch



T. C. FOLSOM.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 19, 1922.

Patented July 4, 1922.

THOMAS COSON FOLSOM, OF TAMPA, FLORIDA.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

Application filed January 19, 1922.

T 0 all to 710m it may concern:

Be it known that. I, THOMAS CosoN FoL- SOM, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Tampa, county of l-Iillsborough, Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Switches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of railway switches. One object is to provide a switch of durable construction composed of a minimum number of parts and which is extremely simple in operation.

Another object is to provide a switch which is practically noiseless and so designed that cars going in and out of the switch will ride over the same smoothly with very little jarring and consequently with very little noise.

Another object is to provide a switch with a tongue which can be very readily removed and replaced by the removal of simple securing means.

A further object is to provide a switch having no oint in the tongue of the same.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 shows a short section of a railway turnout with my improved switch installed therein;

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the switch tongue omitted;

Fig. 3 is aperspective detail of the switch tongue;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections on lines 44,

5 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 6 and 7 are sections on the lines 66, 77 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly tothe draw ings. the switch comprises a main base portion 10 shown in detail in Fig. 2, and a tongue shown in Fig. 3. The base portion is formed of either acasting or forging and is joined to the adjacent track sections in any approved or usual manner. Formed on the base is an outer rail portion 12 which extends fro-m one end 14 to the other end 16 of said base, the end 14 being connected for example with a branch track 18 indicated in dotted lines and the end 16 being connected with a straight-away track 20. The base is also provided with a substantially triangular central raised portion 22 against one side 24 of which the tongue of the switch Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4, 1922.

Serial No. 530,285.

abuts. The base is further formed with an outer flange 26 and base flanges 28 by which 1t 1s secured to the ties in any suitable manner. At its wide end, the base of the switch is formed with a. slot 30 arranged to receive the web portion 32 of the tongue 34 of the switch. The web 32 is perforated at 36 and 38 for the reception of bolts 4040 which extend through suitable holes formed in the body portion of the base of the switch, said bolts being secured in place by suitable nuts 42. The tongue 34 of this switch is of the shape shown in Fig. 3, the rear portion 44 being formed conveniently of a short section of T-rail having flanges 46 and web 32 which is practically an integral continuation of the web 32. The portion of the tongue corresponding to the head or ballof the rail is secured in place so that it forms a continuation of the rail section 19 and its top surface is substantially in alignment to the top surfaces of the portions 12-and 22 of the base of the switch.

The tongue is tapered from the portion 44 to its outer end 48 which end fits in a pocket 50 so that the surface 52 of the tongue is substantially in alignment with the surface 54 of the ball portion 12 of the switch base so that the flanges of wheels traveling over the rail will ride over the joint smoothly and easily without jarring and consequently without causing noise. Near the outer end 48 of the tongue a lug 56 is formed through which projects a bolt 58 carrying a spring 60 adapted to normally hold the tongue of the switch in the position shown in Fig. 1. Wheels riding over the tongue 24 in the direction of the arrow X will clearly make a smooth exit from the tongue to the portion 12 of the switch without moving the tongue. Wheels'traveling over the portion 12 in the direction of the arrow Y will deflect the tongue away from the portion 12 overcoming the tension of the spring 60 and the elasticity in the long tongue section. The end 48 of the tongue is of such small width that the flange of the rail will readily pass the offset of the pocket 50 without causing any ap preciable jar and without causing much noise, it being appreciated by those skilled in the art that the side flanges of railway wheels are gently tapered and this taper is greater than the amount of offset of the pocket 50. In a full sized switch the extreme end 48 of the tongue is approximately only 9/64ths of an inch in width and the amount of offset of the pocket 50 is approximately the same distance so that it will be appreciated that very little jarring or noise will e is composed ofonly' two parts, the tongue being made of one solid integral piece, and belng rigidly secured at one end by means of the bolts 40 which hold the web of the tongue securely in the slot 30 of the switch base. If desired the tongue can be moved by attaching any approved form of switchthrow device or it can be thrown by the use of a switch rod. The structure is such that the parts can be manufactured at a comparatively small cost, yet the parts are durable and sufficiently strong to stand up under severe service. The tongue is so constructed that it can be readily removed after it has become badly worn and quickly replaced by another one by merely detaching the bolts 40. Though I have described quite specifically the structural details of the embodiment shown, it is not to be construed that'I am limited thereto, as changes in shape and arrangement of the parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is: 1. A switch including asupporting base having a slotted seat portion, a tongue having a web engaging the slotted seat portion of the base and means for detachably securing the tongue to said base.

A switch including a supporting base having an integral rail portion one end of which connects with one rail section and the other end of which connects with a second rail section, an elongated detachable s 'vitch tongue rigidly secured at one end to said supporting base in alignment with a third rail section and being tapered so that its other end merges into alignment with said second rail section, said tongue being adapted to be sprung out of alignment with said second rail section.

3. A switch including a supporting base having a rail portion connecting two rail sections and a tapered tongue secured at one end in alignment with another rail section, said supporting base having a seat for holding one end of the tongue in position and means for detachably securing said tongue in said seat.

4. A switch including a supporting base having a fixed integral rail portion formed thereon, a tongue having a depending web portion at one end, a seat formed in the supporting base, means for rigidly securing said web portion in said seat and yielding means for normally holding the free end of said tongue in contact with the rail portion of the supporting base.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

THOMAS COSON FOL'SOM. 

